Spacecraft PCB Design Engineer

Darwin Recruitment; California; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

401k matching

Flexible vacation

Sick leave

Holiday pay

Relocation support

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is seeking a Spacecraft PCB Design Engineer for a Los Angeles-based role in the aerospace sector. In this in-office, full-time position, you will own PCB design from schematic to flight unit, collaborating with power and compute teams on avionics subsystems.

You will lead board bring-up, debugging, and integration testing, ensuring compliance with industry standards and security requirements. A strong hands-on background and willingness to obtain clearance are required.

Qualifications

• Degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering or similar
• 5+ years of core electrical engineering in aerospace with hands-on spacecraft hardware test/assembly
• PCB debugging with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers and rework tools
• Clean room and ESD experience
• Willingness to obtain US DoD Top Secret clearance

Responsibilities

• Design, integrate and test spacecraft electrical PCBs
• Develop avionics subsystems and flatsat emulators with a focus on reliability and testability
• Write and run board bring-up and electrical integration procedures
• Help design, build and use electrical support equipment
• Integrate compute and power subsystems with other spacecraft subsystems
• Document designs, test results and system performance
• Guide other engineers on spacecraft flight and test grounding

Skills

Electrical engineering

Aerospace engineering

PCB debugging

ESD experience

Education

Electrical engineering degree

Aerospace engineering degree

Tools

Altium

KiCad

Eagle

Job description

Spacecraft PCB Design Engineer Los Angeles, CA | Full time, in office | Permanent

Why this role exists

Our client builds custom spacecraft for national security and science missions, and they build them fast. Every mission gets its own design, so the electronics inside each spacecraft are designed from scratch. They need an engineer who can own that work from schematic to flight unit.

How you will work

You will join a small flight programme team where engineers lead through their work, not their title. You will design boards, build them, debug them and see them through integration and test. You will work closely with the power, compute and wider spacecraft teams.

What you will do

• Design, integrate and test spacecraft electrical PCBs
• Develop avionics subsystems and flatsat emulators with a focus on reliability and testability
• Write and run board bring up and electrical integration procedures
• Help design, build and use electrical support equipment
• Integrate compute and power subsystems with other spacecraft subsystems
• Make sure designs meet industry standards and regulatory requirements
• Document designs, test results and system performance
• Guide other engineers on spacecraft flight and test grounding

What you will bring

• A degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering or similar
• 5+ years of core electrical engineering in aerospace, with heavy hands on spacecraft hardware test and assembly
• Altium, KiCad, Eagle or similar
• PCB debugging with oscilloscopes, logic analysers and manual soldering and rework tools
• Clean room and ESD experience
• You must hold, or be willing and eligible to obtain, a US DoD Top Secret security clearance

Nice to have

• Electronics designed for space use
• NASA GEVS
• IPC class board assembly standards
• EMI/EMC and magnetics analysis and testing
• Wiring harness design and build for EGSE and flight
• Integrating custom electronics into larger spacecraft systems
• Spacecraft level grounding and shielding schemes

What's on offer

• Fully paid medical cover for employees, plus dental and vision
• 401k matching
• Flexible vacation, sick days and holiday pay
• Pregnancy, family and military service leave
• Relocation support